The Mail is carrying the following report about Newham Council (60 Labour councillors and no opposition) which has already been in the news this week for increasing the salary of its executive mayor:

"A town hall chief was in line last night for the biggest redundancy pay-off in town hall history. Former trade union official Joe Duckworth, the country's highest-earning council chief, was negotiating his departure terms after stepping down from his job shortly after returning from holiday at the beginning of this week.

Mr Duckworth's basic pay as chief executive of the London Borough of Newham was £241,000 a year. But his pay, pension and perks package is believed to have totalled roughly double the £142,500 salary taken by Prime Minister David Cameron.

The current record council pay-off is thought to be the £545,000 paid to local government's 'million-pound man' John Foster when he was pushed out of the chief executive's job in Wakefield in Yorkshire three years ago.

Boomerang boss Mr Foster rapidly found a new job in charge of Islington town hall in London where his £210,000 salary means he has been paid more than £1 million over the course of three years."

Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has issued the following statement:

"Given that Newham already has a mayor who's enjoyed an inflation busting pay rise it would appear that there is no need for this post anymore. The age of golden goodbyes and huge pay offs in the public sector must end. Such as a casual attitude to spending public money both looks and feels wrong and sends the wrong message to hard working members of the public."